Spring skincare - how to prepare your skin for summer and sunbathe season?

Finally, spring is here! But is your skin as happy with this news and your spring skincare as you are? Spring is an ideal time to start new treatments and prepare your skin for the summer but it's also a time where you can simply make a mistake during your skincare routine which can cost you a long time of fixing the problems and money. We usually forgot that sun this season can be very insidious. What beauty treatments should you avoid? Which products should you try this season to make your skin healthy and glowy? Let's find out!

Time for sunscreen

Even if sunscreen should be used every day still lots of people do not use sunscreen at all. As I said at the beginning of this post, the sun can be really insidious, it might look like it's not harmful but if you can't see the sunlight it doesn't mean that UV equals 0. I told this story couple times on my Instagram - when I was 18 I had to remove a mild tumour from my nose, the main reason? Lack of sunscreen while using strong antibiotics which I got from my dermatologist - no one told me to use them and even if I used a foundation with SPF 15 and sunscreen during the summer it happened. So in case, you still think that sun can't make any damage - I was lucky enough that it wasn't melanoma. 

Quick as nature/Quick as peptides

I feel like peptides are still not common, especially pure peptides as an ampoule which you can mix with moisturizer or add it before serum or moisturizer. I like to think about peptides as a booster or in a binary way - as a fix-it tool. I've tried before FGF peptide and I can clearly see that it speeds up the healing process but there's the only bad thing about it - the price. Peptides aren't cheap - especially pure ones in 99% concentration -  and that's something you have to remember - in this case, we are paying for the technology. 

Be careful with your acids and retinoids

Chemical exfoliants are better than physical ones and that's the truth! But don't over-exfoliate the skin or even worse - do not forget about sunscreen while using AHA/BHA or Vitamin A (Retinol). Some products which contain acids or retinoids can make your skin vulnerable to the sunlight and that might end up with sunburn or make the pigmentation of your skin like dark spots more visible and if you want to repair that mistake later you have to spend a long time and/or lots of money. 

Beauty from nature

Your diet has an impact on your skin too. It's like my mantra, I believe that our dietary choice has a lot of significance in our lives. Focus on a healthy but well-balanced diet. As a future dietitian, I can admit that I hate when I hear about juice cleansing and other "diets" that can be dangerous for your health. Instead, focus on herbs and well-balanced diet. Change your unhealthy behaviours into healthy ones - drink lots of orange juice & green tea but be careful with green tea because too much is bad too. If you drink too much coffee try drinking matcha or ginseng tea. Eat more veggies, rice or maybe try something new like quinoa or kasha? 

Spray it and hydrate it! Mists & thermal waters

Something that I saw while using Wayskin - a skin analyzer is that my skin is getting dry after 2-3 hours of using cream depends on the product and that to balance the skin hydration level I need to use mists and thermal waters during the day. Personally, I might choose mists or even hydrosols over thermal waters since they work better, usually, the contains more ingredients like antioxidants while water is a pure water and that's something that might surprise you but water can dry your skin out - that's why I keep patting the water after the cleansing into my skin and put toner immediately. 

Focus on antioxidants

It is told that antioxidants can remove damages made by free radicals. Free radicals can boost ageing process. Obviously, ageing is not that simple and it's easier to prevent than to heal but still adding antioxidants to your skincare is a good idea. You can try using products based on Vitamin C, Vitamin E or Green Tea Extract.

Calendula & Propolis to make your day better

Two ingredients that I'm obsessed with currently are Calendula and Propolis. Calendula is known for its antiseptic and anti-inflammatory properties, it boosts healing process and after all, it's an antioxidant. Propolis is also called a bee glue, it's nothing else than saliva mixed with resin and beeswax. Bees use propolis for its antibacterial properties - it prevents them from spreading diseases and it works in a similar way on the skin. Propolis is well known in the cosmetic industry for antibacterial, antiseptic and antifungal properties, it's been used for ages to clean and heal wounds. Even Aristotle used it. Both these ingredients are worth a try, but remember - Propolis can be dangerous if you're allergic to bee pollen, remember to do a patch test before using it. 

Shine bright like a diamond - skin brightening products

The beginning of the spring, as well as a winter, is still a good time for brightening products but there's one rule to remember - brightening always come in a duo pack with sunscreen! It's all about safety! One of the most popular product, if it comes to brightening, is Vitamin C. I used Vitamin C for a long time but I've decided to remove it from my routine since one bottle of Vitamin C should be used in 3-6 months. If your skin is very sensitive then Klairs Vitamin C Drops might not be the most effective product but it's the most delicate one and you can easily mix it with Vitamin E mask. If you prefer something stronger then By Wishtrend C21.5 serum is a choice for you. Personally, I prefer to go for Niacinamide - a humectant and antioxidant known as Vitamin B3 - or Arbutin. Hada Labo Shirojyun Whitening Lotion is probably the most known brightening product with Arbutin, you might be surprised with "whitening" term but I feel like it's a marketing term. I used a serum with niacinamide Neogen Dermalogy Vita Lightening Serum and it works really nicely, I had no reaction and it smelled nice, I also used Purito Deep Sea Pure Water Cream which contains niacinamide and has really good ingredients - the brand focus on good formulations. It's a strong moisturizer worth a try. 

Switch your makeup to lightweight formulas

I use heavy foundation - MAC Studio Fix but I love it, it's one of the not many products that fit my skin tone even if during the spring and summer it's clear that NW10 shade is still a bit too dark for me. For spring I like to use cushions. The best cushion I've tried was April Skin Magic Snow Cushion Black 2.0 and I was happy with it even if it wasn't ideal - it's not very high coverage but it worked with acne & scars, durability is not as good as Mac's foundation but still, it has better performance than A'pieu cushion. If you've got darker or medium skin tone finding cushion or BB Cream in ideal shade might be hard but then check brands such as Inglot, Mac or Fenty Beauty, they might have some products that are lightweight and have a bigger range of colours. 

Supplementation & tan

I do not sunbathe - I don't like to see myself with even a small tan. I think it's my instinct of self-preservation - I'm too pale to spend time in the sun. Do you remember Twilight? They used to shine in the sun, lol I wish - I literally burn in the sun and fresh rays of sun in April are showing my freckles (which I barely ever get thanks to my skincare) or they burn my nose since nose is the part of the body that makeup and sunscreen like to run away from a lot. If you want to get some tan then Beta-carotene supplements can be beneficial but you should consult it with your doctor, the supplementation of Beta-carotene should start at least 14 days before sunbathe. 

Let me know how do you care about your skin during the spring. Do you change anything in your skincare? Or maybe it's not different from skincare during the winter?

MORE: BLOGLOVIN | INSTAGRAM | FACEBOOK | PINTEREST | YOUTUBE